RECIPES: Recipe Details

BACK YARD REUBEN

I love Reuben sandwiches and I took the idea from there and if the same concept, with brisket as the meat cut, would make a good burger. In my and my family's opinion, it did . Even if I don't get anymore consideration for this contest entry, had fun making it.

***1a. Chill the brisket, pork fat, pork fat,large cutting board, ring mold and 1 chef's knife until very well chilled, I recommended to chill it in coldest part of the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

***1b. Fill a smaller charcoal grill about halfway up from the bottom with real charcoal hickory wood planks. Light the charcoal. Close lid to grill, making sure air vents are totally opened One should let grill heat for approximately half an hour, monitoring heat. Desired temperature inside of grill is 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once achieved, maintain it by manipulating air vents as necessary. do not let the grill overheat past degrees Fahrenheit or get below 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If the grill does not come equipped with a thermometer, simply use an oven thermometer and place it in the back rear of the grill as it is heating.

2. Remove the chilled beef, cutting board, and knife from the refrigerator.

3. Using the chilled cutting board and knife, quickly as possible, cut the beef into 1 inch square cubes. As soon as done,place in plastic storage bag and refrigerate again. At same time, pull the pork fat from the refrigerator.

4. Flip the cutting board over to the other side, and cube the pork fat into 1 inch square pieces. Work quickly handling the fat as little as possible. As soon as done, place in plastic storage bag and refrigerate again.

5. Quickly wash and paper towel dry cutting board or get a new one.

6.Mince the shallots. Set aside in small ramekin.

7. Finely dice all the thyme (total 2 ounces) needed for the recipe. Set aside in a ramekin

6. Finely dice all the Parsley needed for the recipe

8. Flip the cutting board.

9. Drain the gherkins and cornichons.

10. Small dice the gherkins and cornichon. Set aside in ramekin

12. Remove bags of chilled beef and pork. Add the cubed pork to the bag with the beef. Add in the chopped thyme, salt and black pepper. Shake the bag to mix it well.

13. Have a metal bowl placed underneath the grinding attachment to catch the ground meat. Slowly feed the cubed meat mixture into Kitchenaid mixer meat grinding attachment. (with the Kitchenaid standard mixing bowl removed)
Note: Handle the cubed meat mixture as little as possible so as not to heat it with your hands. Do so until all the meat and fat is ground together.

14. Add the minced shallots to the ground meat mixture. Mix briefly just to incorporate the shallots.

15. Place the ring mold on the sheet pan.Quickly fill the ground meat mixture in the ring mold until the meat is firmly packed inside of the mold, with no empty spaces and the meat level is flush with the top of the ring mold. Slowly lift the ring mold from around the meat mixture. Repeat this step 6-7 times to yield 6- 7 burger patties. Loosely cover the metal bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

16. Remove the meat grinding attachment from the Kitchenaid and place in warm water in the kitchen sink for later cleanup.
Reassemble the kitchenaid as normal.

17. In the kitchen mixing bowl, add the egg yolks. beat on medium speed for only a minute or so to break them up.

18. Add in the vinegar and increase the paddle speed to medium high, but not to splash. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil in slow steady stream. Once emulsified and thickened and all the oil has been added, add the ketchup, dijon mustard, salt,parsley, cornichon and gherkins to the dressing. Mix till well incorporated. Remove from mixing bowl with rubber spatula into appropriately sized container. cover and refrigerate. Should yield about 24 ounces so there will be lots left over for other uses.

19. For the pre-grill seasoning mix, combine the thyme, salt, black pepper, paprika, and Worcestershire in a ramekin. Set aside

20. Set aside prepared purple cabbage in a ramekin. Set aside prepared sauerkraut in a ramekin.

21. Remove the ground patties from the refrigerator and remove the plastic. Working quickly and being careful not to touch the patties, use a metal spoon to coat the top of the patty with the seasoning mix. The seasoning mix should not run down the sides but should be an even coat on the top of the patty. Refrigerate.

22. Prepare the grill grate for the meat by folding a white cloth to a small size and dipping in the bowl of vegetable oil the wide mouthed bowl. run the oil soaked cloth against the grill grate.

23. Place the burger patties seasoning side down on the grill with a flat spatula. Spoon seasoning mix on the burger patties on the other side of the patties once placed on the grill.

24.Let cook to desired wellness but recommend Medium-Well to Well done. Cook, about 4 minutes on each side. Only turn the patties once.
Note: Due to the fat content in this recipe, a more done burger will not be dry but extremely moist. If using a food thermometer, pull the patties at around 145 degrees Fahrenheit because carry over cooking will take the ending temp to about 155 degrees Fahrenheit.
If detecting doneness by touch, when gently pressing, the meat should not give in entirely and should mostly stay bounce back.

25. With grill spatula, carefully remove the burgers from the grill and place on a platter. Layer one slice of Havarti cheese atop each burger. Loosely tent with aluminum foil and set aside.

26. Brush both sides of the sliced artisan rye with olive oil.
Place bread on grill for approximately one minuter per side or until nice golden brown color develops. Do not leave unattended. As soon as golden brown color develops, pull the bread and place on platter. On 6 - 7 half of the bread slices, place a slice of Havarti cheese. Loosely tent with aluminum foil .

27. To assemble burgers, on plate/platter, place the rye slice with the cheese on the platter, cheese side up. Place a dollop of thousand island dressing atop the cheese and spread to edges of the bread. Place the burger on the bun next. Place the purple cabbage with a fork atop the burger. Spread the purple cabbage almost to the edges of the burger .(There should be 0.5 ounces of purple cabbage per burger. )
Next, place the sauerkraut atop the purple cabbage, but centered atop the purple cabbage. for the bun top, Find the least attractive side of the rye slice and smear the dressing on that side. Place the dressing side down on atop the cabbage.

Comments

*1:The Pork Fat: In some grocery stores, it is hard to find the pork fat without it being dredged in salt prior to packaging. If possible, unsalted is best, but if not, as much salt as possible should be removed from the pork fat for preparing this dish. I recommend getting a very cold ice bath together in a large bowl and putting the fat in it. With your hands, roughly was the fat in the ice cold water until all visible grains of salt are removed from the fat and the fat feels smooth to the touch.Then remove the fat from the water and place on a dry paper towel and blot dry. Place the dried fat inside of another, new paper towel and place inside large freezer storage bag. Seal the bag and refrigerate until ready for cutting into 1 inch square cubes

*2: The Pork Fat: If salted pork fat is the only fat available and you have followed the salt removal process listed in *1, still reduce the amount of the salt used in this recipe.
Use 1.75 teaspoons kosher salt instead.

***1a & ***1b: These items should be done simultaneously.

The term "prepared" for this recipe means that the ingredient was purchased ready to eat at a national retailer, in this case,mostly Whole Foods Market.

Equipment Needed:
NOTE: I listed it here because based on the contest instructions, not sure if it should be inside the Ingredients box: